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More than 2,500 homes lost power during a storm that brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Upstate on Monday, according to Duke Energy.

"We've got people out in the field assessing the damage," said Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier. "We'll return service as quickly and safely as we can."

One storm-related fatality was reported. In Union County, a person died when high winds overturned a mobile home, according to Rodney Hinson, spokesman with the National Weather Service in Greer. The identity of the person was not immediately available.

In Greenville and Pickens counties, emergency management officials said the storm was not as damaging as predicted.

But the National Weather Service is forecasting severe weather again on Wednesday.

Two separate storms this Wednesday could bring large hail or strong winds and tornadoes to the Upstate, Hinson said. The weather service predicts the first storm will hit Wednesday afternoon or early evening, followed by another around midnight, Hinson said.

"We're concerned about these Wednesday events because they could be bad ones," he said.

Northwestern Greenville County and eastern Pickens County bore the brunt of Monday's storm but the impact was relatively light, emergency officials said.

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following a storm on Monday, April 3, 2017.(Photo: LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff)

"We got some reports of downed trees, but nothing too extensive," she said.

Emergency management and weather service officials were uncertain whether tornadoes actually touched down on Monday.

The Greenville Health System's emergency rooms said that no one reported storm-related injuries, according to spokeswoman Sandy Dees.

Mosier, the Duke Energy spokesman, said more than 2,500 of Duke's Upstate customers had lost power Monday afternoon, including 845 in Greenville County, 685 in Pickens County, 450 in Spartanburg County, 289 in Anderson County and 297 in Oconee County. In South Carolina as a whole, 4,500 Duke Energy customers lost power, Mosier said.

"Strong wind can have a pretty devastating impact on our equipment," Mosier said.

Students held at school

With a tornado warning issued by the weather service at 2 p.m., as Greenville County elementary classes were concluding for the day, administrators chose to hold the students and shelter them in school buildings for almost an hour, according to school district spokeswoman Beth Brotherton.

At first schools were going to hold students only until the warning was lifted at 2:30 p.m. but school district officials later decided to keep students inside the building even after the warning was lifted to help ensure their safety, Brotherton said.

Parents waiting in car lines for their children were encouraged to take shelter inside the schools, Brotherton said.

"Out of an abundance of caution we chose to hold students in tornado safe areas until the radar and weather conditions indicated it was safe to release them," Brotherton said. "We kept students beyond the expiration of the tornado warning because of concerns over convection, straight line winds, and microbursts.

"Be assured that we train for these situations and conduct severe weather drills throughout the year to ensure to the best of our ability the safety of our students and employees," Brotherton added. "All schools have areas that are designated as tornado shelters. Bus drivers have protocols for taking shelter in case of severe weather while transporting students."

By 3 p.m., all elementary school students in Greenville County had been released. Middle and high school students were dismissed on schedule.

A school bus accident occurred later on Monday but no one was injured and it was not immediately apparent whether that incident was caused by the storm.

"It occurred around 4:30 p.m. on Ashmore Bridge Road, near Ranch Road," Brotherton said. "The bus driver hit the brakes, slid off the road and into a ditch. One Golden Strip Career Center student was on board. The student is unhurt and was picked up by a parent."

Minor damage occurred in Greenville and Pickens counties.

"We've got scattered reports of trees down but no injuries reported," Stumpf said.

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A tree is split following a storm on East Darby Road in Taylors on Monday, April 3, 2017.(Photo: LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff)

A large tree fell on two cars on Parkdale Road in Greenville County, she said.

Three trees and some power lines were down on Tanyard Road, she said. In Pelzer, lightning struck a home HVAC system but it was quickly extinguished by a neighbor. A tree reportedly had fallen on a house in the 12 block of Pelham Road and a tree fell on a car on Woodruff Road near Five Forks, Stumpf said.

The storm toppled about 10 to 15 trees in Pickens County, particularly around the town of Central, according to Denise Kwiatek, the county's emergency management director. Some power lines were down as well, she said.

"There's no severe damage and no injuries," she said.

Power crews from Blue Ridge Electric and Duke Energy were almost immediately on the scene to assess power line damage in Central and Easley, Kwiatek said.

During the 30-minute tornado warning, students at Bob Jones University were moved to the center of buildings, away from windows, spokesman Randy Page said. The campus, however, appeared to suffer no damage from high winds.

While the weather service's tornado warning expired after 30 minutes, Greenville and Pickens counties were under a less-urgent tornado watch for several hours on Monday.

Spokesman Vince Moore of Furman University reported no damage on the Furman campus. Clemson University spokeswoman Robin Denny likewise said Clemson University suffered no damage.

Greenville County Schools canceled outdoor athletic events for evening, although many indoor events went on as scheduled, Brotherton said.

Hinson said Monday's weather was not out of the ordinary.

"This is typical spring weather with these cold fronts coming through," he said.

However, the large hail storm on March 21 -- with hail as large as golf balls -- was a rare occurrence, he said.

Paul Hyde covers education and everything else under the South Carolina sun. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.

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Workers climb down a crane as a tornado warning is issued in Greenville on Monday, April 3, 2017.(Photo: LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff)